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2024 Poster Award Winners

ASPET congratulates all the poster awardees at the ASPET 2024 Annual Meeting.

Division for Behavioral Pharmacology

Undergraduate Students

  • 1st place: “Behavioral Effects of Gabapentin and Heroin in Rats,” Han Namgoong, University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio 
  • 2nd place: “The Effects of Cytokine Receptor Antagonism in the Locus Coeruleus on Stress-related Behaviors in Females,” B. Hunter Bielicki, University of South Carolina School of Medicine 

Graduate and Post-baccalaureate Students

  • 1st place: “Investigating Mu-Opioid Receptor Selectivity of Potentiation of Antinociceptive Effects by a Gβγ Inhibitor, Gallein,” Jacob Ormes, University of Michigan
  • 2nd place: “Behavioral Effects of Cocaine in the Presence or Absence of Chronic Neuropathic Pai,” Gwendolyn Burgess, University of Michigan
  • 3rd place: “Oral Oxycodone Self Administration in Rats with a History of Responding Under a Multiple Schedule for Ethanol and Food or Oxycodone and Food,” Sarah Melton, Louisiana State University  

Postdoctoral Scientists

  • 1st place: “Characterizing a Monoclonal Antibody for the Reversal and Prevention of Fentanyl-Induced Hypoventilation in Rhesus Monkeys,” Lindsey Galbo-Thomma, University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio 
  • 2nd place: “Identifying Inflammatory Targets to Prevent Stress-Induced Opioid Seeking in Females,” Cora Smiley, University of South Carolina School of Medicine
  • 3rd place: “The Modulatory Role for Galanin Signaling in the VTA in Opioid Reward,” Brittany Pate, Emory University School of Medicine

Division for Cancer Pharmacology

Undergraduate Student

  • 1st place: “Enhancing The Scalability And Therapeutic Window Of Taccalonolide-Based Chemotherapeutics For The Treatment Of Triple-Negative Breast Cancers,” Bradley Ludington, Vanderbilt University 

Graduate and Post-baccalaureate Students

  • 1st place: “MDM2 targeting PROTAC stabilizes p53 and inhibits neuroblastoma growth,” Parul Suri, St. John's University
  • 2nd place: “Scaffold protein Scribble potently regulates the Sonic Hedgehog (SHH) pathway by modulating the phosphorylation and stability of the transcription factor Gli2,” Jingwen Zhu, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital 
  • 3rd place: “Concurrent inhibition of EGFR and KRAS synergistically suppresses cell growth and prevents ERK reactivation in KRASG12D-mutant PDAC,” Amber Amparo, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine

Postdoctoral Scientists

  • 1st place: "Novel Functions forBNIP3L/NIX in Promoting Breast Cancer Growth and Metastasis”, Dianicha Santana, The University of Chicago

Division for Cardiovascular Pharmacology

Undergraduate Student

  • 1st place: “Compartmentalization of Protein Kinase A Signaling in Cardiac Myoblast (H9c2) Cells Using A Photoactivatable Adenylyl Cyclase,” Maya Groff, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 

Graduate and Post-baccalaureate Students

  • 1st place: “Interaction between hERG and the Fc Domain of IgG Leads to the Phosphorylation of a C-terminal ITIM by Src which Induces Chronic Channel Internalization,” James Cornwell, Queen's University
  • 2nd place: “Investigation of the role of human CYP2J2*7 in proarrhythmia,” Xingyu Zhu, National University of Singapore 
  • 3rd place: “MARY1 Promotes Recovery from Acute Kidney Injury through Induction of Mitochondrial Biogenesis,” Paul Victor Santiago Raj, The University of Arizona 

Postdoctoral Scientists

  • 1st place: “Compartmentalization of Protein Kinase A Signaling in Cardiac Myoblast (H9c2) Cells Using a Photoactivatable Adenylyl Cyclase,” Qianman Peng, Boston Children's Hospital/Harvard Medical School 

Division for Drug Discovery and Development

Graduate and Post-baccalaureate Students

  • 1st place: “Characterization of Novel Agonists and Antagonists for Ectopically Expressed Olfactory Receptor OR51E1,” Taylor Henry, University of Miami
  • 2nd place: “Examining a Unique Cysteine Residue in Regulating Differences Between ERK1 and ERK2 Signaling and Potential as Novel Therapeutic Targets," Nathaniel McClean, University of Maryland - Baltimore 
  • 3rd place: “The Drug Design and Discovery of Novel Enaminone Derivatives as Potential Anti-seizure Agents,” Rhashanda Haywood, University of Maryland Eastern Shore 

Postdoctoral Scientists

  • 1st place: “GPR55 Antagonist KLS-13019 Prevents and Reverses Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy (CIPN) in Rats,” Michael Ippolito, Temple University 
  • 2nd place: “Characterization of NCGC1360 and NCGC1366 as Highly-Selective D2 Dopamine Receptor Antagonists and Lead Candidates for the Treatment of Neuropsychiatric Disorders,” Ashley Nilson, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke  
  • 3rd place: “Deuterated Buprenorphine Mitigates Fentanyl Effects in Pregnant Rats,” Julia Tobacyk, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences 

Division for Drug Metabolism and Disposition

Graduate and Post-baccalaureate Students

  • 1st place: “Fusobacterium Nucleatum Metabolites Activate Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor and Promote Colorectal Cancer Cell Proliferation,“ Pei-Ru Jin, Purdue University 
  • 2nd place: “HIV Antiretroviral Drug Metabolism and Transport Mechanisms at the Blood Brain Barrier,” Hannah Wilkins, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine 
  • 3rd place: “Novel LC-MS/MS Targeted Analysis Shows that Retinol to RBP4 and TTR to RBP4 Ratio Decreases in Individuals with Diabetic Kidney Disease,” Aprajita Yadav, University of Washington 

Postdoctoral Scientists

  • 1st place: “Elucidating the Drug-Drug Interaction Potential of Hydroxychloroquine Metabolites due to Direct and Time-Dependent Inhibition of CYP3A,“ Marie-Noëlle Paludetto, University of Helsinki 
  • 2nd place: “Deconvoluting the Global Metabolomic Changes Caused by a Complex Clinical Pharmacokinetic Cimetidine-Metformin Interaction Involving Organic Cation Transporters,” Dilip Singh, Washington State University 
  • 3rd place: “Interplay of Alcohol Intake, Smoking, and Sex on the Protein Abundance of Hepatic Drug Metabolizing Enzymes and Transporters in Humans,“ Kari Gaither, Washington State University 

Division for Molecular Pharmacology

Undergraduate Students

  • 1st place: “Dissecting Paranigral VTA Nociceptin Signaling during Stress and Motivated Behaviors,” Ananya Achanta, University of Washington
  • 2nd place: “In Vivo Production of Novel RNA Molecules and Computational Modeling of Their 3D Structures,” Frank Mao, University of California, Davis

Graduate and Post-baccalaureate Students

  • 1st place: “Direct interrogation of context-dependent GPCR activity with a universal biosensor platform,” Remi Janicot, Boston University 
  • 2nd place: “Muscarinic acetylcholine 3 receptor (M3) displays agonist-dependent G protein signaling bias,” Elizabeth McDuffie, Thomas Jefferson University  
  • 3rd place: “Disrupting the interaction between constitutively active Gαq and Gβγ inhibits oncogenic signaling,” Jenna Aumiller, Thomas Jefferson University

Division for Neuropharmacology

Undergraduate Students

  • 1st place: “Role of β-arrestin-2 in the development of opioid withdrawal in the mouse colon,” Syed Rehman, Virginia Commonwealth University 
  • 2nd place: “The Effect of Acute and Chronic Administration of Fluoxetine on R-(-)- DOI Induced Head Twitch Response in Swiss-Webster Mice,” Catharine Carfagno, Binghamton University 

Graduate and Post-baccalaureate Students

  • 1st place: “Investigating the Behavioral and Biological Effects of Chronic Alcohol Use in a Mouse Model of Blast-Induced Mild Traumatic Brain Injury”, Makenzie Patarino, University of Washington
  • 2nd place: “HDAC6 Inhibition Reduces Immune Cell Infiltration of the Dorsal Root Ganglia in Murine Chronic Pain Models,” Ilinca Giosan, Boston University School of Medicine 
  • 3rd place: “Evaluation of the Reinforcing Effects of the Novel Dopamine Transport Inhibitor JJC8-091 in Monkeys,” Mia Allen, Wake Forest University School of Medicine

Postdoctoral Scientist

  • 1st place: “Metabotropic mGlu1 Receptor Regulation of Cortical Inhibition and Cognitive Function: Implications in Adolescent Cocaine Exposure,” Deborah Luessen, Vanderbilt University

Division for Pharmacology Education

Undergraduate Students

  • 1st place: “Equitable Impacts of Coaching Reports on Undergraduate Students Self-Directed Learning and Pharmaceutical Science Exam Performance,“ Hannah Hoffmann, The Ohio State University

Graduate and Post-baccalaureate Students

  • 1st place: “Pharmacology Retention and Evolving Memory Palaces: How the Method of Loci can be Modified for Medical Students' Pharmacology Learning,“ Nathaniel Zhu, Arkansas College of Osteopathic Medicine
  • 2nd place: “Evaluating Preclinical Medical School Integration of Diversity and Bias Awareness Education Related to Analgesia and Opioid Use Disorder,“ Katherine Cohen, University of Central Florida College of Medicine 
  • 3rd place: “Street Medicine (SM) as a strategy for applying core concepts in pharmacology in Medical Education,“ Yezen Anabtawi, Michigan State University 

Division for Toxicology

Undergraduate Students

  • 1st place: “Lung Injury in Mice from Acute Cutaneous Exposure to Vesicating Agent Nitrogen Mustard,“ Shruti Veluru, Michigan State University
  • 2nd place: “Molnupiravir Active Metabolite-N4 hydroxycytidine causes Cytotoxicity to Mammalian Cells In Vitro,” Jessada Pakotiprapha, Thammasat University 

Graduate and Post-baccalaureate Students

  • 1st place: “Arsenic and Selenium Efflux from Human Red Blood Cells,” Serena Li, University of Alberta 
  • 2nd place: “Melatonin Renoprotection against Vancomycin Toxicity: Dual Activation of Melatonin Receptors and NRF2 Signaling,“ Christine Kim, Rutgers University 
  • 3rd place: “Naphthalene-DNA Adducts Detected in Mouse Liver Following Acute Oral Exposure,” Morgan Domanico, University of California - Davis

Postdoctoral Scientist

  • 1st place: “Screening of plant extracts in achieving novel strategy in promoting efficacy and combat Cisplatin-induced neurotoxicity,” Kishore Kumaree, Chulalongkorn University 

Division for Translational and Clinical Pharmacology

Graduate and Post-baccalaureate Students

  • 1st place: “Biased Allosteric Modulation of β2-adrenergic Receptor Signaling and Bronchodilation by different β-agonists,” Sushrut Shah, Thomas Jefferson University
  • 2nd place: “Investigating the Molecular Mechanism of Fat Accumulation in Lipedema and its Response to Thermogenic Stimuli,“ Ankita Poojari, University of the Pacific 
  • 3rd place: “Development of a Physiologically Based Pharmacokinetic Model for Predicting Midazolam Pharmacokinetics in a Pediatric Population with Obesity,” Nusrat Ahmed, University of Nebraska Medical Center

Dolores C. Shockley Awards

Undergraduate Students

  • 1st place: “Effects of the Veterinary Anesthetic Xylazine on the Discriminative Stimulus Effects of the Opioid Agonist Fentanyl in Rats,” Mariah Nguyen, Temple University

Graduate and Post-baccalaureate Students

  • 1st place: “Muscarinic acetylcholine 3 receptor (M3) displays agonist-dependent G protein signaling bias,” Elizabeth McDuffie, Thomas Jefferson University
  • 2nd place: “HIV Antiretroviral Drug Metabolism and Transport Mechanisms at the Blood Brain Barrier,” Hannah Wilkins, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
  • 3rd place: “Cocaine Mediated Changes in Sigma-1 Receptor Enhances HIV-Infection of Human Macrophages and iPSC-derived Microglia Independent of Dopamine,” Oluwatofunmi Oteju, Drexel University College of Medicine

Postdoctoral Scientist

  • 1st place: “Assessment of an Allosteric Modulator of GIRK 1/2 in Preclinical Models of Cancer-Related Neuropathies to Alleviate Associated Mechanical Allodynia,“ Yuma Ortiz, Texas Tech University Health Science Center 
  • 2nd place: “Interplay of Alcohol Intake, Smoking, and Sex on the Protein Abundance of Hepatic Drug Metabolizing Enzymes and Transporters in Humans,” Kari Gaither, Washington State University 
  • 3rd place: “Novel Functions for BNIP3L/NIX in Promoting Breast Cancer Growth and Metastasis,“ Dianicha Santana, The University of Chicago

 

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